My Social Media Habits| Carenza Bramwell

A goal of mine this year was to be more active on my social media sites. It has never been a strong point of mine and was something I often forgot to do. However, recently I've been posting more on my social media sites and have noticed that I have been getting more views than I used to. In today's post, I will be talking about my social media habits, why I am doing this and how. 

I would like to add a small disclaimer that I am not doing this for views, stats, attention and so on. I am doing this because I genuinely enjoy it. Obviously, getting the views and so on is a rewarding feeling as it means I am not creating content that is just sitting in the endless void that is the internet.  

Taken from Google Images 

My Social Media Habits

To put it simply, my social media habits are as follows. I post two blog posts a week, one on Monday and one of Thursday. My other two main platforms are Instagram and Twitter. I split my time 50/50 on them. I post on Instagram on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. This means I post on my stories three times a day and I put up one Instagram post. For Twitter, I post on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. I've been posting three times a day on there as well. 

This looks like a lot and it is a lot of work behind the scene. It takes a lot of planning and I already have a fairly busy lifestyle. However, when you break it down, the workload is fairly spread-out. There are only two days a week where content is going live on two different platforms. 

Why?

The big question is why am I doing this? I've already mentioned I'm a very busy person, so why add to my work load? Truthfully, I've been creating content online for over five years. There are times when it feels like an obligation, but most of the time I do it because I find it fun. It challenges me as a person. This isn't a style of writing that I would normally gravitate towards. I share select details about my life online. 

The changes in my social media habits started because I wanted to do this properly. I've been half-arsing it for many years and now I finally feel like I can do it properly. There is also a chance once I finish my degree this could be something I turn into a job. I enjoy being creative and I don't mind working from my own home. By posting more regularly online, it expands who sees my posts. It's also part of the requirement as if you don't use social media, very few people will just stumble across your blog/website. Social media is your best friend in this line of work. 

How?

Another big question is how am I doing this? The first step I took was to sit down and work out when my posting days would be. I worked out a little schedule that I wrote out by hand and have stuck next to my desk. It means I can keep an eye on what should be going up when. The next step is to preprepare a lot of my content. Blog posts are usually written the week before they go up. I plan content in advance, especially blog posts so I don't sit down and have nothing to write. With Twitter, I've started scheduling tweets. It means that I can go about my day and know I will still have content going up. I also set time aside to take my Instagram photos. I usually have about two weeks of photos taken in advance, meaning that I'm not having to constantly take photos. All this preparing makes my workload at the time a lot easier. On average, I'd say I spend maybe three hours a week working on my social media content, most of that time going into writing blog posts. It takes up such a small chunk of my life. The thing I'd take away from this section, is that planning is a very useful resource when trying to manage multiple social media platforms. 

That concludes my post on my social media habits. I hope this helped you with yours.

Carenza :) x      

My Social Media Detox|CarenzaOnBooks

This seems ironic and hypocritical of me to promote a social media detox on my blog, but I'm going to do it anyway. In August I went a social media detox. I made a conscious effort to spend less time on social media, and while I have backtracked a bit, once I am back at university, I am going to start being strict again. 

When I went on holiday to Bruges, the first thing I did before going was to turn off all my notifications to social media. Instagram. Twitter. YouTube. FaceBook. Emails. The only thing I left was Snapchat as it's the only way I talk to my best friend. I was away for six days and it was so unbelievably freeing to not be checking social media every five minutes. I can't remember the last time I did that. I didn't click on any form of social media for almost a week. I kid you not, I felt like a completely different person. I wasn't concerned about missing out or needing to know what everyone was doing.

When I got back to the UK, I implemented this "strict" routine when I was allowed to check social media. I was allowed to check it once in the morning and once in the evening. That was it. I should mention I was only allowed to do this on my phone and I didn't really follow these rules on my laptop. I stuck to this schedule for the remainder of August. I continued to feel light and unencumbered by everyone around me.

Social media has become such an ingrained part of my life. I can still remember a time when I didn't use social media. To put it into context, I was around 6 years old when most social media sites were invented. I remember when social media exploded in 2012. I remember my life before social media. It's cheesy to say, but I used to love meeting up with my friends at the park or beach and just talking to each other. I used to love spending all day with them and there was nothing to distract us. We would just go for walks and enjoy each others company. Now when I spend time with my friends, we all inevitably end up on our phones. 

I think there is something to be said for finding a balance between not using social media at all and using it all the time. My plan at the moment for when I go back to university is to only go on social media three times a day. Once in the morning, afternoon and evening. I probably will cut down on the amount of YouTube I watch. Something I did before going on my social media detox was to go through all my accounts and clear out who I was following. I tailored it down to the people I was really interested in and who's content I interacted with most. I did this predominantly on YouTube and streamlined who I was subscribed to. It was refreshing to be able to go online and see the content I cared about, rather than people's whose videos I watched every now and then.  

It's hard for someone like me to want to spend less time online when I run something like a blog. I actually (technically) run two blogs and I used to run my YouTube channel. I realised all this time on social media, along with various other life-related things, was making me miserable but since making this decision to spend less time online, I have noticed I'm a lot happier. I think having some structure to your social media usage allows you to put your life in perspective. I already read a lot of books, but I've been reading way more since I made these decisions. 

If like me, you are looking to cut down the amount of time you spend on your phone or online, then I'd highly recommend a screen time tracker. I know the iPhone comes with one. I started keeping an eye on how much time I was spending online and I was horrified. On average, I was on my phone for around 16 hours a week. This boils down to about 2-3 hours a day. I am making an effort to use my phone less, but I've been slipping recently. Something I am going to do when I am working, especially at home, is to use an app I used to use a lot called Forest. It allows you to plant a virtual tree and to keep that tree alive you have to stay on the app. You can use it to track tasks from 10 minutes to 2 hours in length. I used to use it when I was studying, but I am going to start using it more. I'm also going to start putting my phone on night mode in class and to put my phone in my bag so I'm not distracted by it. 

I was alarmed by how much my life had been consumed by social media. However, at the same time, I don't want to become one of those preachy people that scream at others "don't use phones, they're the devil's work, social media is the route of all evil". I can see that social media is both a good and bad thing. I just know that for someone like me, who likes to feel productive yet gets very easily distracted, that limiting my time online will be a good thing. I can achieve more things and then when I actually check social media, it feels like a bit of a reward or a break from my everyday life.   

November Glossybox Review 2015| It's Carenza B

Hello!

So again we have another first on my blog! It's my first Glossybox review! I have been getting Glossyboxes for nearly a year now and since I started my blog in June, I've never reviewed one. But this months box had been my favourite since I subscribed in January. I was contemplating dropping my subscription after December but this months box has rekindled my love for Glossybox. This is how my review is going to work, I am going to rate each product out of these 4 categories: Packaging, How like-able it is, Quality and Usage. Each category will by out of 5 and the total for each product is 20. To rate them I am going to be using this symbol:

It's a little Disney Tsum Tsum Winnie-the-Pooh dressed up as a bumblebee! It's so cute and as my surname begins with B I feel links nicely. It will look a little something like this:

 

For  those of you who have never heard of Glossybox, Glossybox is a monthly subscription box where you get 5 beauty related products, some are full sized and some a travel sized. So lets see what was in this months box!

This is the general overview of the contents of the box. It consists of 3 full sized products and two travel sized products. I would describe this as an Autumn/ Winter essential kit for beauty lovers, a gold toned eye-shadow palette from MUA, a lipstick colour of your choice by Revlon, a primer by Emite, a body lotion by Royal Apothic and some false eyelashes by Eylure. 

The first product that I pulled out of the box was the Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Black Cherry. If you read either my winter recommendations post or my October Favourites post you will know I have developed a love for dark purple lipsticks. This is my favourite thing in the box and I can't wait to use it. It will definitely get lots of love this side of 2016 and will probably become my favourite lipstick for Autumn/ Winter. Revlon is a brand I have heard of but never tried, I do own one other lipstick product by them, it's one of their colour stay moisture stains in the shade 005 Parisian Passion, also in a dark purple. It retails at £7.99 from Boots and Superdrug.  

On the card that comes with each box, it says "Our love affair with lipstick is never-ending. This month, every Glossy will be receiving one of Revlon's best-selling lipstick shades, which are infused with vitamin E and hydrating avocado oil. Glamour is but a swipe away!"

My only disappointment with this lipstick is something which now I think about it sounds really silly. When placing the lid back on it doesn't make that satisfying click that all my other lipsticks do, but apart from this minor flaw I am head over heels in love!  

Product Rating:

Packaging- 

How like-able the product is-

Quality- 

Usage-

Total- 17/20

Next we have a Make-Up Academy Eye-shadow Palette in Undressed. Like the Sleek Vintage Romance palette, this is a super versatile product and you can get so many looks from this palette. MUA is a brand I have never tried before and I have heard lots of good things about them. I feel like this palette is going to become my go to palette for everyday looks. I love the gold shades in this palette as they are really flattering. The two blue shades will not be getting any love from me as I have blue eyes and blue eye-shadows can make me look like a china doll. This product retails at £4 which is an insane bargain!

What Glossy says- "From work day nudes to smouldering metallics, this beautiful palette is like a chocolate box of eye colours. And it's just as hard to choose one delicious shade over another" 

Top row from left to right- Puff, Rose Ash, Fawn, Gild, Hazel, Lion
Bottom row from left to right- Bronze Ore, Burnished Brown, Tawny, Henna, Fuel, Cool Grey

Product Rating:

Packaging-

How like-able the product is-

Quality-

Usage-

Total- 15/20

After the MUA palette we have a primer from Emite. Emite is a brand I had never heard of and I am looking forward to trying this primer. When I do wear makeup, I always forget to put a primer on and I'm usually half way through applying my foundation. I have tried a primer by Maybelline in their baby skin range and it's okay. This product retails at £25.90 and this is the travel size version, I don't think I will be repurchasing as £25.90 is quite a lot for a primer.

What Glossy says- " Primers underpin a great base and this lightweight formulas is no exception. The peachy fluid balances skin tone, boots radiance and creates a smooth finish, perfectly prepping skin for the day (or night) ahead" 

Product Rating:

Packaging-

How like-able it is-

Quality-

Usage-

Total- 11/20

Next we have Royal Apothic Body Creme. I love the packaging, it looks really vintage and has a French vibe to me. Again, Royal Apothic is brand  I have never heard of. The product itself smells really light and floral, which isn't my favourite scent in the world. It sinks in pretty much straight away and leaves your skin feeling silky smooth, usually these type of products feel slightly sticky but this one doesn't. I would actually use this as a hand cream as it's super moisturizing. This product retails at £14.50 which again is on the pricey side and this is a travel sized version.

What Glossy says- "This delicately scented body cream has lactic acid to gently smooth skin, while keeping it hydrated so it stays super-soft despite the chilly winter months. Simply massage it into damp skin post-shower to seal in moisture"  

Product Rating:

Packaging-

How like-able it is-

Quality-

Usage- 

Total- 12/20

Finally we have some false lashes by Eylure in Natural Lashes. I have never tried false lashes before and I don't think I will, they have never appealed to me as to me the look fake (which they are). They also look like they take too long to apply and I just can't be bothered. In the world of beauty, False Lashes and Nails are something I have never tried and never will. I will probably give these to someone at school who I know likes beauty. They might be a very good brand but I won't be trying these. They retail at £5 each.

What Glossy says- "With party season fast approaching, these natural looking lashes provide a subtle boost in volume and length that beats mascara alone. They're super easy to apply and you can use them time and time again." 

Product Rating:

Packaging-

How like-able it is-

Quality-

Usage-

Total- 6/20

So overall, from least liked to most liked it goes: Eylure False Lashes, Emite Primer, Royal Apothic Body Creme, MUA Eye-shadow palette and Revlon lipstick.

I hope you enjoyed this review and comment if you want more. Don't forget you can follow me on instagram and twitter @itscarenzab. For business related stuff you can email me on my business email- itscarenzab@gmail.com.

Love

Carenza x